off-key

adjective

Definition of off-keynext
as in tuneless

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-key
  1. tuneless
  2. atonal
  3. unpleasant
  4. disagreeable
Adjective
  • Fletcher’s thrumming, didgeridoo voice—violently tuneless when singing and melodic in speech—is a counterpoint to Fliakos’s light, almost nasal timbre; Niall Cunningham and Andrew Maillet, as the President’s assistants, are their balancing male pair.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
  • Winfrey’s musical reworking of The Color Purple is essentially tuneless and unpleasant.
    Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
Definition of tuneless
Adjective
  • Ives’s legendary status initially rested on his reputation as a maverick pioneer who supposedly had beaten Schoenberg in the race to the atonal pole.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
  • This is a half-hour exploration that jazzes its way into atonal space, but Lesh never loses the groove.
    Jordan Hoffman, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024
Definition of atonal
Adjective
  • The news, predictably, was unpleasant: the Olympic roster was about to leak, and Clark wasn’t on it.
    Sean Gregory, TIME, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Almost everyone is bitter, unpleasant, scheming, self-centered, manipulative or awful (or just plain crazy).
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of unpleasant
Adjective
  • Rufo should know this, at which point someone who caucuses with the right should be pleased to keep his own, frequently laudatory views (there’s much that’s disagreeable about DEI, ESG and other acronyms) separate from government force at all levels.
    John Tamny, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
  • Some repel deer with a disagreeable taste, such as hot pepper.
    Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Nov. 2024
Definition of disagreeable
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near off-key

offish

off-key

off-kilter

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Off-key.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-key. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

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